Apparatus for molding pipe-coverings.



No. 775,540. PATENTED NOV. 22, 1904. J. A. MGOONNELL.

APPARATUS FOR MOLDING PIPE GOVERINGS.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 7, 1902.

' N0 MODEL 6 SHEETSSHEET 1.

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PATENTED NOV. 22, 1904.

J. A. Mc-GONNELL. APPARATUS FOR MOLDING PIPE GOVERINGS.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 7, 1902.

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N0 MODEL.

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PATENTED NOV. 22, 1904 J. A. MGGONNBLL. APPARATUS FOR MOLDING PIPE COVERINGS.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 7, 1902 6 SHEETS-SHEET 31 mm mm N0 MODEL.

No. 775,540. PATENTED NOV. 22, 1904. J. A. MCGONNELL.

APPARATUS FOR MOLDING PIPE OOVERINGS.

. APPLICATION FI LED MAY 7. 1902.

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No. 775,540. PATENTED NOV 22-, 1904. J. A. MGOONNBLL.

APPARATUS FOR MOLDING PIPE GDVERINGS.

APPLIOATION FILED MAY 7, 1902.

NO MODEL. 6 SHEETS-SHEET 5.

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7 J. A. MCOONNELL. APPARATUS FOR MOLDING PIPE OOVERINGS.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 7.1902

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JOHN A. MCCONNELL, OF ALLEGHENY, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNQR TU MOCONNELL ASBFSTQS & EQVERTNG (10., F FTTTSBURG, PENNSYL- VANIA, A CORPQRATTON OF PENNSYLVANIA. I

seminar-us res moraine PBPEECQVERHNGS.

SPECXFIGATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 775,540, dated November '22, ILQtM Application filed May '7, 1902. Berial No. 106,279. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, JOHN A. MoCoNnnLL, a resident of Allegheny, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Apparatus for Molding Pipe-Coverings; and T do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

My invention relates to apparatus for molding semitubular non conducting coverings from materials which set by adding water to them, such as plaster-of-paris, calcined magnesia, or hydraulic cement or mixtures of such materials with other suitable materials and preferably having asbestos, hair, or other suitable fiber mixed therewith.

The object of my invention is to provide app'aratus for this purpose which is adapted to mold such materials in a substantially continuous manner. I r

In molding tubular or semitubular non-conducting coverings the practice heretofore has been to add enough water to the materials and agitate the same until a semiliquid mass was formed, which was then poured into tubular" or semitubular molds with a corein the center and there allowed to set, after which the molded tube or half-tube and core were removed from. the mold. Two forms of molds have been generally used, one being semitubular or trough-shaped and used in a horizontal position and the other being tubular and used in an upright position, the former molded a halftubular section and the latter a tubular sec" tion. The tubular section was afterward cut longitudinally into half-tubes, so that it could.

joints, at which heat can escape and cold enter,

besides warring the appearance of the coveringwhenin place.

The object of my present invention is to provide apparatus which will make these tubular or semitubular coverings in continuous molds, which move either uninterruptedly or at quick intervals, thus making the articles very rapidly and perfectly and of any desired length.

lln the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side views? one form of my apparatus. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same. Fig. 3 is a crosssection on the line 3 3, Fig. 1. Fig. i is a view of the delivery end of said apparatus. Fig. 5 is a vertical section of the rack for receiving the molded articles. Fig. 6 is a side view of a modified form of apparatus. Fig. 7 is a plan view of the same. Fig. 8 is a cross-section on the line 8 8, Fig. 6. Fig. 9 is a rear end view of this apparatus. Figs. 1O, 11, and 12 are detail views showing the cutting means. Fig. 13 is a side View of another modification. Fig. la is a similar view of still another modification. Fig. 15 shows details of the core of the last modification. Fig. 16 is an end view of the delivery apparatus shown in Fig. 13.. Fig. 17 is a similar view of a modification. Fig. 18 is a plan view showing a double apparatus. Fig. 19 is a side view of a portion thereof; and

Fig. 20 is a cross-section on the line-20.20, v

Fig. 19.

The essential feature of my invention is an endless traveling mold of semitubular form, together with a core therefor. These parts may. take various forms without departing from the spirit of my invention; but prefer ably the mold will be an endless beltl traveling over pewendriven drums or pulleys 2, mounted in suitable frames 3. This belt will preferably be made of rubber or other material which is not readily afiected by moisture, and means will be provided for holding the upper reach thereof in trough or semitubular shape.

less sectional trough which passes over suitable power-driven wheels 7, mounted in the frame 3. This trough is' so positioned with reference to the upper reach of the belt 1 that it will holdthe same into trough shape, as shown in Fig, 3, and preferably it will be driven at the same rate of speed as the belt 1, so that the latter is relieved of all friction or drag, and a substantially continuous or endless semitubular mold is formed thereby. instead .of'the hinged sections shown thetrough may be formed by a concave chain belt or other suitable jointed sections. The trough-sections 5 are provided with lugs 8, which slide on stationary bars 9 or have wheels thereon which roll on said bars to keep the trough from sagging at the center. The serniliquicl mass of material may be fed to the belt in any suitable way, either being poured by hand thereon, but preferably being delivered to a hopper 10, from whicha spout 11 leads downwardly to the belt 1 and having a curved end 12, so as to deliver the semil-iquid material onto the belt after the same has been formed into trough shape.

A suitable mandrel or core must be used in connection with the mold, and this likewise may be of various forms, either stationary, rotary, or traveling. In Fig. 1 this core is formed by an endless traveling belt let. which passes over power-driven drums or pulleys 15 and over the guide-pulleys16,mounted in prox imity to the belt 1 and having their faces convex, as shown, so as to cause the belt to take a semicylindrical shape on its lower face. The lower reach of the belt therefore forms the core and cooperates with the belt 1 to mold the semitubular article between the same.

Preferably some means for supporting or holding this belt firmly in place will be employed, and in Fig. 1 I haveshown a bar 18 suspended from the hangers 19 and preferably of semicircular form, as shown in Fig. 3, this bar Preferably. there will be placed beneath the upper reach of the belt a semituendless mold. F The article comes from the mold continuously as long as material is supplied to the mold. When a traveling core,

such as shown in Figs. 1, 3, 14, and 19, is used, the article can conveniently be divided into sections by securing to said traveling core separating-plates 34:, which will divide the semiliquid material in the mold and form the articles in sections. When, however, a nontraveling core, such as shown in Figs.- Band 7, is employed, it will be necessary to divide the continuous article into sections, and this can conveniently be done at the end of the trough 22 either by means of a hand-saw or knife, but preferably by means of poweractuated cutting mechanism, which is caused to traverse the path of movement of the article and sever the same. If the mold is traveling continuously, the cutting device is made to travel forward at the same rate as the mold while traversing the path of the molded article.

The cutting mechanism may comprise either a sawmounted in a swinging or moving frame or a knife or wire. I have shown the latter as a convenient means for accomplishing this purpose. The mold of course will be of such length, relatively very much longer than shown in the drawings, to enable the semiliquid mass to set by the time it leaves the mold; but the article will still be suificiently soft so that a cutting-wire willsever the same. This cutting-wire is shown attached to a U-shaped frame 23, which is mounted on a shaft 24, so that it can be rocked to carry the cutter across the path of the article and move along with the same. Any suitable mechanism for this purpose may be employed. 1 have shown a pair of beveled gears 25 and 26'on the drum-shaft'2, which gears are mutilated and oppositely arranged and mesh with a beveled pinion 27, to which is connected a long gear 28, which in turn meshes with a gear 29, secured to the sleeve 30, to which the cutter-frame 23 is attached. The oppositely-arranged mutilated gears are driven at such a ratethat they will rock the frame 23 at predetermined lengths of article say at every six feet of the travel of the continuous moldand as they are oppositely arranged the cutter will be caused to sever the article in both directions ofits movement, so as to cut oif'sections, say, three feet long. The sleeve 30 is slidably mounted on the shaft 24 and is provided with a cam-groove 31, which is engaged by a pin 32 in an opening in the shaft, which will move the sleeve longitudinally, so that thecutterwill travel with the article when severing it, so as to cut the same at right angles.

sleeve and cutter to its original position after each severing of the article.

Adjacent to the delivery end of the trough 22 I provide suitable mechanism for receiving the cut-ofl' sections and conveying them ous forms. For instance, in Figs. 1 and 2 I have shown a rack provided with a series of shelves36, each of which is provided with a series of semicylindrical concave depressions 37. This rackis preferably .placed upon a truck 38, which in turn runs on suitable tracks on the elevator 39, the latter being adapted to be raised and lowered by any con venient mechanism such, for instance, as the piston-rod of a suitable power-cylinder. In the operation of the machine the lower most shelf is brought into line with the de livery-trough 22, and as soon as one of the concave depressions in this shelf has received a section the truck is moved slightly to one side to bring another depression in line with the trough 22, and so on until that shelf isentirely filled, or if-several molds are being operated parallel with each other the concave depressions on each shelf will all be filled at once. The rack is then lowered or raised, as the case may be, by means of the elevator to bring the next shelf opposite the trough, which in turn is filled in the manner specified. After the entire rack has been filled the truck with the same is rolled off the elevator to the drying-room, where the filled rack, preferably having rollers or casters for feet, is removed therefrom and an empty rack placedthereon and then returned to the machine to-receive its load. of sem itubular sections. This provides a convenient means for conveying and drying the molded sections without necessitating any handling thereof. 7 The modification shown in Figs. 6 to 9 differs from that shown in Fig. 1 in that the trough 4t instead of being movable, as in Fig. l, is made stationary; but it serves the same function as the sectional trough in formhangers 19 and which is rotated by any suitable mechanismsuch, for instance, as the sprocket-wheel and chain 20 shown. This mandrel, it will be observed, does not travel with the molded article; but sinceitis rotated thematerial will not stick thereto. The cover-plates 20 in this case cannot be supported from the mandrel-bar, but are sup- .A spring 33 returns the,

away. This mechanism may also be of vari-' ing and holding the belt 1 in trough form.

'ported on bracketsl projecting from the frame of the machine. These cover-plates are preferably thicker, at their outer edges or have their outer edges'turned up,'so that any of the semifiuid material which may leak out around the core will drain back into the mold. Inasmuch as thismandrel-bar projects beyond the spout 11 for delivering the semiliquid material to the mold, the spout must be shaped so as to permit the passage of the mandrel-bar. This is shown in Fig. 8, wherein the lower end of the spout .11 is widened.

out at 42 and provided with an opening 43 therethrough, which is surrounded by asuitable bushing through which the mandrel-bar 18 passes.

In the modification shown in Fig. 13 the belt 1 is shown as passing around pulleys or drums 2 having concave faces, so that the belt is always held in trough shape. This figure also shows the stationary trough 4. The mandrel is composed of a tubular belt 14, passing over driving and guide pulleys 15, which are provided with concave faces to receive the tubular belt. The delivery-spout 11 in this case is formed the same as shown in Fig. 8, so as to permit the core is to pass therethrough. This, however, isnot neces sary, as the material at that end of the appaof an endless sectional bar t6, the sections being cylindrical in shape, as shown in Fig. 15, and being connected to each other by means of links 4;, seated in slots 4&5 in the ends of the sections and provided with studs 49, which are seated in the curved recesses 50, so that the sections can be readily separated. This sectional core-bar passes over suitably-shaped power-driven wheels 51 and travels with the endless mold and preferably at the same speed. The delivery-spout 11 in this case also is so shaped as to permit the core-bar to pass therethrough.

For molding magnesia, which sets very slowly, the sections 44 may be formed as molds separate from'their carrying means. These molds after receiving the material would be delivered at the 'rear end of the carrier and conveyed away to give the magnesia time to set,

Tnstead of using the racks 30 (shown in Figs. 1, 2, 5, 6, and 7) ii may-employ other delivery mechanism. For instance, in Figs. 13 and 16 T have shown a rotating drum or the like 55 provided with concave depressions 56' on its periphery for receiving the semitubular sections as they are delivered from the molds. Adjacent to each of the depressions 56 is hinged a cover 57, which has connected thereto a spring'58 for holding the same normally extended. One side of this drum is inclosed by the guide or shield 59, which will 'cause the covers 57 to close over the sections held in the depressions 56, as shown in Fig. 16, in which position the parts are held until the end of said guide is cleared, when the covers 57 will swing outward by gravity or by the force of the springs 58, thus permitting the molded section to drop down upon a suitable table or belt 61, by which it is conveyed away.

If desired, a series of molds and cores, such as shown in each of the figures, may be placed side by side and operated in unisonsay four such molds, as shown in Figs. 18 to 20in which event each of the shelves of the racks shown in Fig. 5 would be filled simultaneon the elevator would be necessary; but as soon as one shelf is filled the rack may be lowered or raised, as the case may be. to bring thenext shelf into line with the molds. In such case the rotary delivering mechanism shown in Fig. 16 would be modified substantially as shown in Fig. 1Z"that is, instead of being'circular it will be polygonal in outline, and each face thereof will be provided with a series of depressions 56, corresponding in number to the number of molding apparatus employed, four being shown in Fig. 17. in that case as soon as one of the faces of said drum is filled with molded sections 1 place over the same a shelf 67, which will have one edge held under the clip 68, secured to the drum, while the opposite edge of the shelf will be free. The drum'will rotate in the direction shown by the arrow, and the guide 59 will hold the shelves and sections in place. T e forward end of the shelf isthe one that is .eld by the clip 68, so that when said forward end passes the end of the guide 59 it cannot immediately drop; but the rear end of the shelf is not held by any clip, and as soon as it passes the end of the guide 59 it willdrop, thus permitting the 'other'end to fall out of the clip 68. deposited'upon a suitable truck or othermeans, and, preferably, 1 provide each of the shelves with legs 70, so that one shelf will drop upon the preceding one. These shelves or the truck bearing them will preferably be on av platform or elevator, which will gradually be low ered as the shelves thereon accumulate, and aseries of shelves may beremoved one. truck, as described in the preferred modification. By the delivery apparatus shown in Figs. 16 and 17 the molded sections are inverted, whereas with the rack shown in the preferred modification they are delivered with their concave faces up.

troduced intothe molds. molds of the same size will be placed in close- The shelves will be When it is desired to sheath the sections with cloth or paper, a strip of the sheathing material of the proper width will be in- Preferably two parallel proximity, as shown in Figs. 18 and 20, and the strip of material will be of sufficient width to line the interier of both molds.

The strips 7 5 are supported on rolls or spools 76 and travel along with themolds. They thus become attached to outer surfaces of the two half-sections, form a sheathing therefor, and also forming a hinge which allows the two halves to form a tube. A wheel 7 7 having teeth or needles on its periphery, engages the strip and keeps it from shifting sidewise. I may place in each mold a separate strip of paper or cloth wide enoughto overlap each other'and preferably coated on their inner surfaces with adhesive material. This will cause the two strips to adhere and form the hinge. With a single mold a single strip will be used, as shown at 75 in Figs. 6 and 7, and this strip may be fluted longitudinally, as shown in Fig. 7. The strips preferably are introduced at the front end of the apparatus and travel with the molds; but they may be introduced ily gathered from the foregoing description.

Suflice it to say that the endless continuous molds, whether in the form of trough-sec-v tions shown in'Fig. 14 or in the form of an endless belt. as shown in the remaining figures, which endless belt may be supported either by a stationary trouglnas in Figs. 6 and 13, or by a traveling sectional trough, as in Fig. 1, receives the semiliquid mass from the hopper 10, and the mass is shaped in said traveling mold by the core-bar, which may be either rotary, as shown in Fig. 6, or of the various forms of traveling cores shown in'the remaining figures. During thetraveling of the molds the semiliquid mass is held in shape and gradually'sets, and by the time it reaches the end of the machine it has set sufiiciently to maintain its shape. Here, unless molded in sections, it is cut into sections by the mechanism described or any other suitable mechanism and then delivered from the machine either into the racks 30 or onto the rotary delivery devices shown in Figs. 16 and 17. It will. be apparent that working two of these molds together facing each other that tubular sections may be molded, and means provided to withdraw the core.

The specific form of molding apparatus shown in Figs. 6 to 9 and the cutting-01f mechanism shown in Figs. 10 to 12 and the specific delivery apparatus shown in Figs. 13,

be formed and with a minimum amount of labor, thus overcoming the slow, tedious, wasteful, and expensive hand processes heretofore used.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a machine for molding semitubular non conducting coverings from materials which set by the addition of water thereto, the combination with an endless flexible mold having a long trough-like portion with the open side directed upwardly and arranged to travel. horizontally, of means for moving the same, and a core cooperating with said mold.

2. In a machine for molding semitubular non-conducting coverings from materials which set by the addition of water thereto, the

combination with an endless flexible mold having a long trough-like portion with the open side directed upwardly and arranged to travel horizontally, of means formoving the same, a core located in said mold, and means for moving said core.

3; ln a-machine for molding semitubular non conducting coverings from materials which set by the addition of water thereto,the combination: with an endless flexible mold having 5 long. trough-like portion with the open side directed upwardly and arranged to travel horizontally, of means for moving the same, an endless core located in said mold, and means for moving said core alongwith themold.

4. In a machine for molding semitubular non heat-conducting coverings from materials which set by the addition of water thereto, the combination with an endless traveling belt, of means for moving the same, means for bolding the same in trough form during a part of its course, and a core cooperating with said mold.

5. In a machine for molding semitubular non-heat-conducting coverings from materials which set by the addition of water thereto, the combination with an endless traveling belt, of means for moving the same, a trough for supporting the upper reach of said belt and holding the same in trough form, and a core 00- operating with said mold.

6. In a machine for molding semitubular non conducting coverings from materials which set by the addition of water thereto, the combination with an endless traveling Sectional trough, of means for moving the same, a core located above said trough and arranged therein, and means for drawing a fabric through said trough and underneath said core.

7. In a machine for molding semitubular non conducting coverings from materials which set by the addition of water thereto, the combination with an endless traveling belt, of means for moving the same, an endless traveling sectional trough for supporting the upper reach of said belt, and a core arranged in the upper trough-likeportion of said belt.

-8. In a machine for molding semitubular non-conducting coverings from materials which set by the addition of water thereto, the combination with an endless traveling sectional trough, means for moving the same, an endless traveling'core arranged above and in said trough and traveling therewith, and means for drawing a fabric through said trough and underneath said core.

9. In a machine for molding semitubular non-heat-conducting coverings from materials which set by the addition of water thereto, the

combination with an endless traveling beltmold, of means for moving the same, .means for holding the same in trough form during part of its course, and an endless traveling core located adjacent to the belt-mold and traveling therewith.

10. In a machine for molding semitubular non-conducting coverings from materials which set by the addition of water thereto, the

combination with an endless flexible mold having a long trough-like portion with the open side directed upwardly and arranged to travel horizontally, of means for moving the same, a core cooperating therewith, and cover-plates for confining the material in the mold and forming and smoothing the edges of the article.

11. In a machine for molding semitubular non conducting coverings from materials which set by the addition of water thereto, the combination with an endless mold having a long trough-like portion with the open side directed upwardly and arranged to travel horizontally, of means for moving the same, a stationary core-bar located in the horizontal portion of said mold, and cover-plates secured to said core-bar and projecting over the sides of said mold and serving to confine the material in the mold and to form and smooth the edges of the article.

12. In a machine for molding semitubular non-heat-conducting coverings from materials which set by the addition of water thereto, the combination with an endless traveling mold, of means for moving the same, a core cooperating therewith,said core comprising an endless traveling belt, and means for holding the lower reach thereof in asemicylindrical form.

13. In a machine for molding semitubular non-heat-conducting coverings from materials which set by the addition of water thereto, the combination with an endless traveling mold, of means for moving the same, a core cooperating therewith, said core comprising an endless traveling belt, and a core-bar for bolding the lower reach of said belt in semicylindrical form.

' 14. In a machine for molding semitubular I non-heat conductin'g coverings from materials which set by the addition of water thereto, the

combination with an endless-traveling-belt mold, of means for holding the same in trough shape during a part of. itscourse, a core '00- operating therewith, said core comprising an endless traveling belt, and means for moving the same along with the mold.

15. In a machinefor moldingsemitubular non-heat conducting coverings from materials which set by-the addition of water thereto, the combination with an endless traveling belt mold, means for holding the same in trough form during part of its'travel, acore located adjacent to the trough part of said belt, said core comprising an endless traveling belt, means formoving the same along with the mold, and a core-bar for holding the portion of the core-belt adjacent to the-mold i-nsemi- I circular form.- a

l6. Inamachinefor molding semitubular non meat-conducting coverings from materials .which set by the addition of water thereto, the

combination with an endless traveling troughi like mold,- of a core cooperating therewith, a

receptacle for-the semiliquid material, and a spout leading from thereceptacle and having a curved lower end lying in the mold.

17. In a machine for moldingscmitubular non-heat-conducting coverings from materials which set by the addition of .water thereto, the combination with an endless traveling troughlike mo]d,;of a core cooperating therewith, and

means'for applying a sheathing fabric to the outer surface of the articles.

18. In a machine for molding semitubular non ,-.conducting coverings from materials which set by the addition of water thereto, the combination of an endless flexible traveling trough-like mold, of means for moving thesame, .an endless traveling core cooperating therewith, and means for dividing thearticle into sections.

19. In a machine, for molding semitubular non conducting. coverings from materials which set by the addition of water thereto, the

' combination with an endless traveling trough 21. Ina machine for molding semitubular non-heat-conductin g coverings from materials which set by the add itionof water thereto, the

. combination with an endless traveling trough.

like mold,means for forming the article in sections, of racks provided with grooves for' means for carrylng receiving the sections, and away said racks.

22. In a machine for moldingsemitubular non-heat-conducting coverings from. materials which set by the addition of water thereto, the

- combination with an endless traveling troughlike mold, of means for producing the article 1n sections, a series of shelves or racks pro vided wlth grooves for receiving said sections,

and an elevator on which said racks are held.

23. In a machine for molding semitubular non conducting coverings from materials which set by the addition of water thereto, the combination with an endless mold having a long troughflike portion with the open side directed upwardly and arranged totravel hori-' I zontally, of a core cooperating therewith, means for moving the same, means for'dividingthe article into sections, a series of racks or shelves for receiving-said sections, a. truck on which said racks are mounted, and an elevator for supporting said truck.

24. ha machine" for molding semitubular non conducting coveringsfrom materials which set by the addition of water thereto, the combination with a plurality ofparallel endless molds having long trough-like portions with the open sides directed upwardly and ar-' ranged to travelhorizontally, of means for moving the same, a core cooperating therewith, ineans for dividing the articles into sec tions, and receiving means adjacent to the dc to receive the articles from said plurality of molds. i

livery end of said molds and of suificient width 25 In amachine for molding semitubular non conducting coverings from materials I which set by'the addition of water thereto, the 1 combination with two or more endless molds having long trough-like-portions with the open sides directed upwardly'and arranged to travel horizontally, of means for moving thesame, cores'cooperating therewith, means for supplying material to said molds, andmeans for delivering the moldedarticles therefrom.

26. In a machine for molding semitubular non-heat-conducting coverings from materials which set by the addition of water thereto, the,

combination oftwo endless traveling molds placed parallel andope'rating together, and means for introducing a'strip of fabric to overlap said molds.

In testimony whereof I, the said JOHN A. M CONNELL have hereunto set my hand.

JOHN A. MoCONNELL. Witnesses:

ROBERT C. TO'ITEN, F. W, 

